Landfall along the Chesapeake: In the Wake of Captain John Smith

Book Description

In 2002, Susan Schmidt retraced John Smith's 1608 voyage on the Chesapeake Bay. In Landfall along the Chesapeake, a cruising guide for Chesapeake boaters and a field log for naturalists, Schmidt compares the beauty of ancestral legacy and childhood memory to her observations on a 100-day voyage in a 22-foot boat.

As she circles the Bay counterclockwise from Jamestown, she explores Smith's encounters with Native Americans and the Bay's ecological changes over the past four hundred years. On each river and creek, she quotes Smith's journals on matching wits with Powhatan, meeting Pocahontas, surviving thunderstorms, ambush, and a stingray's barb. Anchored on wild creeks, Schmidt observes swans and dragonflies, lightning and sunsets; in port she interviews colorful characters and working watermen about blue crabs and oysters.

Scientists explain the Bay's nitrogen overload, water-level rise, anoxia, Pfiesteria, Kepone, and the Ghost Fleet. Native American chiefs discuss their heritage then and now. Ashore, Schmidt walks on her ancestor's farm, now a military chemical dump, and climbs her grandfather's lighthouse. Despite her despair at bad air quality and diminished fisheries, and her dread of high wind and rough seas, Schmidt expresses gratitude for small-town hospitality and the navigation skills her father taught her.

Book Description

Wherever you go you need ACCESS

No other guides provide such instant and portable access to a destination as the Access series. Organized by area and filled with striking graphics and detailed maps, each Access guide lets you see at a glance where you are, where you're headed, and what special attractions await you just over the next snow-capped mountain. Color -coded entries clearly highlight everything you need to know-about the area's best resort, trails (for you or your family), apres-ski, sports facilities, restaurants, ski shops, and charming nearby towns. Follow our well charted trail; it's all you'll ever need and more.

Book Description

The Institute for Mathematical Sciences at the National University of Singapore organized a program on "Post-Genome Knowledge Discovery" from January to June 2002. The program focused on the computational and statistical analysis of sequences and genetics, and the mathematical modeling of complex biological interactions, which are critical to the accurate annotation of genomic sequences, the study of the interplay between genes and proteins, and the study of the genetic variability of species. As part of the program, tutorials for graduate students and newcomers to this transdisciplinary area of research were given by experts in these fields.

This important volume collects the expanded notes of some of the tutorials that were given during the program. The topics include comparison and alignment of biological sequences, modeling and analysis of biological pathways, data mining and knowledge discovery from biological and clinical data.

Book Description

Many practical control problems are dominated by characteristics such as state, input and operational constraints, alternations between different operating regimes, and the interaction of continuous-time and discrete event systems. At present no methodology is available to design controllers in a systematic manner for such systems. This book introduces a new design theory for controllers for such constrained and switching dynamical systems and leads to algorithms that systematically solve control synthesis problems. The first part is a self-contained introduction to multiparametric programming, which is the main technique used to study and compute state feedback optimal control laws. The book's main objective is to derive properties of the state feedback solution, as well as to obtain algorithms to compute it efficiently. The focus is on constrained linear systems and constrained linear hybrid systems. The applicability of the theory is demonstrated through two experimental case studies: a mechanical laboratory process and a traction control system developed jointly with the Ford Motor Company in Michigan.

Book Description

Few subjects hold more universal appeal than that of medicine, and surely few books have evoked medicine's drama and magic more powerfully than On Doctoring. In its many forms, from age-old ritual to the cutting edge of modern science, medicine concerns us all. It is a human profession, practiced by people who have dedicated their lives not only to science but also to humanity. In the words of the great physician-writer Sir William Osler, "The physician needs a clear head and a kind heart; his work is arduous and complex, requiring the exercise of the very highest faculties of the mind, while constantly appealing to the emotions and higher feelings." It is the humanity in medicine that has inspired the pens of countless writers, and that has now been captured in this remarkable anthology of medical literature.

This newly expanded edition of On Doctoring is an extraordinary collection of stories, poems, and essays written by physicians and non-physicians alike -- works that eloquently record what it is like to be sick, to be cured, to lose, or to triumph. Drawing on the full spectrum of human emotions, the editors have included selections from such important and diverse writers as Anton Chekhov, W. H. Auden, William Carlos Williams, John Keats, John Donne, Robert Coles, Pablo Neruda, Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Carver, Alice Walker, Kurt Vonnegut, and Abraham Verghese. Among the new authors included in this edition are Rainer Maria Rilke, Lisel Mueller, and May Sarton.

In this era of managed healthcare, when medicine is becoming more institutionalized and impersonal, this book recaptures the breadth and the wonder of the medical profession. Presenting the issues, concerns, and challenges facing doctors and patients alike, On Doctoring is at once illuminating and provocative, a compelling record of the human spirit.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful collection of thoughtful poems and essays.......2007-06-14

This highly readable collection of essays and poems is a must read for all physicians in training, and for any physicians who may be losing their passion for healing.

Useful introduction to the medical humanities.......2006-10-19

Along with Bernard Lo's Resolving Ethical Dilemmas: A Guide for Clinicians, and many articles from the current medical literature, I use this book when I teach medical ethics to first- and second-year medical students.

Anthologies are by nature uneven. Readers think they can out-edit the editor. So, to award an anthology five stars does not necessarily mean that the reviewer enjoys or even appreciates every selection in the book. In this case there are many selections I do not approve, but the few that I absolutely love more than compensate. Among these are poignant stories by patients like Anatole Broyard and physicians like Richard Selzer, Abraham Verghese, and Lewis Thomas.

Narratives that convey the angst and awkwardness of the physician/patient relationship are important for young doctors to internalize. Prose narratives are more approachable than poetry, and narratives written by either doctors or patients in first person are more credible than those written in third person by third parties, such as novelists.

I hope that the next edition of this book will contain proportionately less poetry, more non-fiction, more first-person physicians' accounts of their loneliness (e.g., in the work of Deborah Bradshaw, M.D.), and more first-person patients' accounts of their suffering, anger, disgust, and occassional gratitude.

Beautiful, memorable stories and anecdotes!.......2005-04-26

A nice collection for anyone interested in all things medical. It makes a nice reference book!

Fair Attempt to Expound Literary Art in a Medical Paradigm.......2004-03-20

I, along with all my other classmates, received this book at the beginning of medical school at our white coat ceremony. It was presented to us as a collection of anecdotal stories and poems that would help us maintain our focus on the humanistic side of medicine and keep our passions for the practice alive while toiling away at arduous scientific study and long clinical hours. There are some excerpts and short works in the book that do just that. I found myself inspired and feeling enlightened after reading these parts of the book. However, this did not comprise the majority of the book for me. Most of it kept me on the verge of reading and sleep. Several of the poems failed to grip me in the way a select few of the stories had done. Although much of health care deals with the elderly, the book seemed to drone on and on with the experiences of the geriatric to the extent that at times, it felt a more apt title would be On Being Old. For the most part, I felt this work tried to pressure literary art on to medicine. There is a lot of rich and passionate literature related to medicine, but I felt that mostly only less than great works were included here. It was an o.k. experience to read through On Doctoring which did have its gripping pages, but I would probably not recommend it.

The Art of Medicine..........2003-03-25

...the science of health. The art and science of the human spirit.

These are given every year to first year students by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and in my opinion, it is like a trusted physician's black bag in which you have the practitioner's stethoscope and blood pressure cuff and plenty of simple pharmacies for a house call--one in which the doctor is not in a hurry to run.

Let not the title catch the layperson off kilter--it's chocked full of good stuff for the rest of us humans who just like to read classic and near-classic works. Like some of my favorites: Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Dickinson, Larynx by Neruda, House Calls by Lewis Thomas and A Summer Tragedy by Arna Bontemps. There's a superb essay on wonder and the evolution of the human spirit by Melvin Konner. There's a Vonnegutian reworking of Frankenstein ( "a crass medical genius" with my real supervisor's first name--I'm grinning as I type this). There's a Chekhov piece on the loss of hope and sadness when one loses a child. Then there's copies of art--Munch, Rockwell, Fildes. Plus, lots, lots more.

First year medical students who usually are to busy to read anything for enjoyment, are missing out on a great collection if they don't stop to smell some of these literary roses. We lay folk with a taste for a great read or two will take us this slack and pass the word on how superb is this collection.

Average customer rating:

a fun dumb book

Yuppie made a worng turn in his BMW'r

Legion of the strange

Farting, drinking, getting punched and getting laid

A Chip Off The Old Block

Legion of the Lost : The True Experience of An American in the French Foreign Legion
Jaime Salazar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

The Naked Soldier: A True Story of the French Foreign Legion

Life in the French Foreign Legion: How to Join and What to Expect When You Get There

Legionnaire: Five Years in the French Foreign Legion

Mouthful of Rocks

The Making of a Legionnaire: My Life in the French Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment (Cassell Military Paperbacks)

ASIN: B000FTWB1W

Book Description

Since 1831, the French Foreign Legion has been a renowned symbol of discipline and solidarity. Made up completely of volunteers, the Legion gives men a new lease on life-and a chance to test their limits both physically and mentally. And in 1999, the Legion was just what American Jaime Salazar was looking for.

From the harrowing physical rigors of basic training to his posting in the 2e REG outside of the tiny village of Saint Christol, from his fierce competitiveness and pride to his ultimate disillusionment with the Legion and dramatic desertion, this is the story of Salazar's quest for honor and sacrifice. Legion of the Lost is a compelling, first-hand account of the contemporary French Foreign Legion, sure to dispel myths while, at the same time, add to the legend of the finest trained army of mercenaries the world has ever seen.

Customer Reviews:

a fun dumb book.......2007-10-10

This book is an account of a well-off american in the French Foreign Legion. Its really got nothing new to say about the Legion that has not been said endlessly in other sources. But its a fun "lite" read. Lots of stories about getting drunk, the absurdities of military life in peacetime and the charcters that are part of a force like the Legion.

Don't expect any excitment though. What you get is an account of garrison duty in the france during peacetime. About the closest there is to any action is when the author deserts the legion and he deserts fast.

Salazar (the author) doesn't come across as a very likeable character in the book. But he has a casual style in writing that made me forget all the things about him that were not all that great.

Yuppie made a worng turn in his BMW'r.......2007-05-07

Who would want to read a book that was suppossed to be 5 chapters but all you get when you pay for it is 1 chapter. The guy quit and ran after 1 year of service in the Legion and then had the nerve to tell everyone? If that had happened in the U.S. Army he would be in Leavenworth. This author is a coward , plain and simple, and not worthy of reading let alone purchasing.

Legion of the strange.......2007-04-10

The French Foreign Legion? It is an (in)famous group of foreign soldiers doing dirty jobs for France. The Legion has historically attracted less than savory characters although several gentlemen-soldiers (it has always been all men except for maybe one)have joined over the Legion's 200+ year history. Regardless of its sometimes checkered past the Legion has fought heroically for France throughout its existence. This book gives a good recount of several instances.

This book tells the story of an educated American who joined the Legion in the 1990's. The author and main character is a mechanical engineer and 'thinking man's soldier' in the Legion. He does not fight in any battles or see any exotic places outside France. However, what is nice about the book is that the author has an excellent writing style which gives vivid descriptions of his fellow Legionnaires, all of his training and all the b-s he has to endure. The BS is so bad he daringly escapes back to the safety of the USA. This is not a war story but it is a rich life experience journal which tells the tale of a young American who joins a foreign army in a foreign land with a band of lost souls and the frolicking and hardship he endures along the way.

Farting, drinking, getting punched and getting laid.......2007-01-20

Although well-written enough to want you to turn the page for potential adventure, it never comes. Jaime talks about guy bonding via farting, drinking and getting laid while in town. The book never gets exciting to the point of combat, and that's the purpose of the French Foreign Legion. Why didn't Jaime just enlist in the US army for a tour or two or three to Iraq or Afghanistan? I'm sure he could have come back with excitement, gore and extreme physical and mental challenges to last a life time. I got the impression Jaime just joined the Legion to see if he could pass basic training, and then to write about it later. I read the first 150 pages but got bored and quit...just like Jaime.

A Chip Off The Old Block.......2006-09-20

This is a very good read that treats the reader to many humorous situations and a blow by blow account of what FFL basic training is like. Salazar takes the reader around France and to London. He is a gifted writer that can make you laugh while reading or flinch with suspense. I enjoyed the vivid detailed accounts while he was on leave. I just wish that the book would have included a glossary. I don't know if the hardback does, but the paperback does not. Thanks to Salazar I am going to visit the FFL museum in the future.

Book Description

Compiled from official source documents this book covers the entire period of the USAAF, pre-war and post-war, and throughout World War II, up to the fomation of the independent U.S. Air Force in 1947. Described are many hitherto unknown facts about the USAAF involvement in the worldwide war theaters. This includes information about converting the Eighth Air Force in England to night bombing, because of the horrendous losses being suffered over Germany, and how the timely development of the Merlin-engined P-51 helped to prevent this. Full details are given of the conversion of B-17s to the night bombing role. The book covers the toal subject in chronological order, with chapters covering 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945-1947. All details, and the reasons for the changes, are given for the camouflage colors, camouflage schemes, national insignia, and aircraft markings. A chapter is devoted to a brief description of the combat aircraft distinctive markings evolved by the Eighth Air Force (these will be covered fully in a subsequent book), a complete history of the Invasion stripes used during the Allied assault on Europe in 1944 (the author had these Top-Secret files declassified in 1966), and a selection of some of the unit insignia used by various USAAF units. A final chapter discusses the evolution of the camouflage and gloss colors used by the USAAF, including the official color standard numbers employed in the various color specifications up to, and including, FS 595B, and includes color swatches of them. Two appendices cover the aircraft designation system, and the aircraft maintenance markings. All aircraft camouflage schemes are shown in full color, as three-view drawins, where applicable. This includes the almost unknown special camouflage schemes evolved by the Army in North West Africa, to reduce losses due to the unexpected German counterattack, near the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia. The text of the numerous official technical orders are given in full, allowing the reader to see their complete progression for the first time. The meetins of the applicable joint meetings with members of the allied nations, and the effect of their decisions are fully covered, together with some surprising differences. This book is an indispensable reference for historians, restorers of USAAF aircraft, museums, and modelers. , over 480 color and b/w photographs, 39 color illustrations, 9" x 12"

Customer Reviews:

Shame on the Publisher.......2007-06-17

An EXTREMELY poor decision for the military editor at Schiffer to go with printed paint chips, rather than the real thing, as Monogram had done. So easy for a desk jockey to destroy the work of a researcher's lifetime. Anyway, the book is an excellent study for the topic at hand, but even those who are less interested in aircraft colors & more interested in the paint standards at the time (which equally apply to the Army ground forces), will get there money's worth. In the appendix, Mr. Archer clearly presents the illustrated standards, and has tables showing the lineage of the various colors from the wartime specs, through TT-C-595, to the current FS 595b.

great info on african theater and sea search color schemes.......1999-09-27

A great reference for the historical modeler or any fan of WWII air power. I especially enjoyed the detail and new information (to me)on the development of sea search camouflage schemes and the camouflage and markings developed for the north african campaign. These areas have been minimally covered previously, and it was always confusing to try and determine what was accurate. It is a valuable reference for me in reproducing some of these more obscure or specialized color schemes in models, and in identifying the theater and period of aircraft in photos.

Is it worth $ 85.00.......1998-03-27

For a aviation historian to spend 85.00 for a book there is the expectation that the book would provide a new prespective on a subject. This book falls short on this area. This book uses the same tired aviation pictures that have been published for the past 50 years. The only thing different it the picture are now muddy and in some cases out of focus. This author also has no understanding of the aircraft involved with his professed expertise (ie camouflage). In one istance of this books failing this author has mislabled all the B-24 liberators photos in this book The book might be good on the subject matter (camouflage) but weak on the aviation history side. Only recommend for experience aviation historians and not for the beginner.

Average customer rating:

great read

Those [expletive deleted] tapes!

The Watergate Wars

One spring, one well

Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis OF Richard Nixon

Wars Of Watergate, The: The Last Crisis of Richard Nixon
Stanley I. Kutler
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
1970s | 20th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Watergate

Abuse of Power: The New Nixon Tapes

President Nixon: Alone in the White House

Arrogance of Power, The : The Secret World of Richard Nixon

Haldeman Diaries

ASIN: 0394562348
Release Date: 1990-05-19

Customer Reviews:

great read.......2006-11-13

I couldn't add anything else to the other comments; just buy it - you will not regret.

Those [expletive deleted] tapes!.......2006-04-29

At least for those us who cut their political teeth during the 1960's and 1970's, Watergate and Vietnam were the watershed events. There was life before Watergate and Vietnam and life after. Stanley Kutler's work is one of the first to bring an historian's perspective to the Watergate story. As the saying goes, if you read one book about Watergate, this is the one.

Kutler is by no means neutral on Richard Nixon, but one of the unique things about Watergate was that Nixon's own taping system provided the record to hang himself. If nothing else the tapes proved Nixon was a habitual and flagrant liar. Kutler, whose regular job is as a professor at the University of Wisconsin, was drawn into a lifetime of work by his expertise on the sprawling scandal that was Watergate. His work has continued as he battled first Nixon, Nixon's estate, and then the National Archivists for full access to the White House tapes. Nixon kept up his lies and deception to his last days, with far more success than one would have hoped. In the long run, history's judgment of Nixon will be harsh and will start with Kutler's work.

The Watergate Wars.......2006-01-29

This book is truely well written. Hard to put down. If you have read: President Nixon, Final Days and Abuse of Power this book puts it all together. It is the AH! HA! you've been looking for. It will also make you curious about the Pentagon Papers. All these books are written from a historical perpective by well know historians. Not journalist looking for a quick buck.

One spring, one well.......2005-11-13

If your goal is to understand the depth of Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal, Stanley Kutler's `The Wars of Watergate' is the book for it. It's a great introduction to Watergate without that qualifying caveat, of course, but Kutler perches his narrative squarely on Nixon's shoulder. This book doesn't take extended side trips to the creation of the Plumbers, to that dirty trickster Donald Segretti, or the back desks in the Special Prosecutor's offices. The wars of Watergate, Kutler writes, are "rooted in the lifelong political personality of Richard Nixon," a personality that is marked by political paranoia, a determination to wreak vengeance on his enemies, and an overweening concern with winning his own elections. For those who dismiss Watergate as a third-rate burglary, or a vague `everyone else does it,' Kutler provides a substantial "discussion of the abuses of power that precede the burglary and the obstruction of justice that followed it."

Kutler sets the stage with brief chapters on the LBJ Administration, Vietnam, and a biographical sketch of Richard Nixon prior to the presidential election of 1968. We're taken closer to our subject with Kutler's next few chapters on Nixon's first term as president, where Nixon's relationship with the media (antagonistic,) and congress (disdainful,) as well as his executive style (obsessive micro-management) are surveyed. Providing as they do a context for the crimes of Richard Nixon, these prelude-to-war sections properly prepare us for the battles of Watergate.

An American constitutional historian, Stanley Kutler is well qualified to guide us through the battleground that was the second term of Richard Nixon. The war analogy is apt. For Nixon the Wars of Watergate officially begins with the immediate Administration response to the break-in at the DNC headquarters by the Watergate burglars. The first phase may be called "The War of the Burglars' Silence," a phase that is marked by Nixon's active participation in those acts that would lead to his resignation less that two years later.

One gets the strong impression that `The Wars of Watergate' is Kutler's response to future revisionist historians. The revisionist template was already being hammered out by Nixon, and others, when this book was published in 1990. If Kutler is forestalling an alternate interpretation, he does so with a well-coordinate, thoughtful, balanced, and overwhelmingly convincing presentation of facts. His interpretation - that Nixon was at the center of the Watergate cover-up from the beginning - is, with the evidence he provides to back it up, irrefutable.

Although `The Wars of Watergate' is not a complete history of the scandal, it's a good chunk of it - the heart of it, if you will. It would make a good introduction for the uninitiated. Even for Watergate wonks its expanded chapters on the Rodino chaired House Judiciary Committee, which considered impeachment, will provide fresh insights and a more complete story of an under-reported Watergate subject. This may not be the best single volume on Watergate, but if it isn't I haven't read its rival. Highest recommendation.

Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis OF Richard Nixon.......2005-08-09

Not just about Watergate, but a comprehensive look at RN's political career. The Watergate break-in came to symbolize the abuses of this imperial presidency. Excellent historical analysis. Comprehensive history not just at RN's presidency, but the evolution of the office during the Cold War. Thank goodness G. Gordon Liddy was such an incompetent stooge that the whole bag of "White House Horrors" came to light.

Customer Reviews:

Good Basic Information.......2004-01-30

I got this book when I became interested in wildlife rehabilitation. I read it and then started volunteering at a wildlife rehab center. The information in this book helped to give me a head-start in caring for the animals at the center (tho nothing takes the place of hands-on). I recommended it as a good starting point.

Care of the Wild, Feathered & Furred: Treating and Feeding I.......2003-06-24

This is a great basic book for anyone rehabbing wild birds or mammels. Some things are outdated and you should always seek the advise of someone more experienced in rehabbing for their advise (or a Vet knowlegeable with wildlife)if you aren't sure or contact the National Wildlife Rehabilitation Ass. (NWRA). Always ask yourself, what does it's parents do for it or how does it survive in the wild.I found Practical Wildlife Care, by Les Stoker to be a more indepth, very helpful book to use and add to my ever-growing library

A Wonderful Book. . ........2002-07-16

This book is really helpful to me because I am currently taking care of a wild baby bird.I read information on how to feed it,treat any injuries,and the importance of a nest and warmth.The bird is doing really well now.Care of the Wild,Feathered,and Furred also has lots of information on squirrels and other small mammals.

Use with caution.......2001-03-30

This is a handy book to have on any rehabbers bookshelf. HOWEVER, it better not be the only one. Much of the information it contains is old - much advancement has been made over 25 years of rehabbing animals and even though this book has been "revised and updated" the diets and feeding information seem to have remained the same. For example - baby birds should not be encouraged to drink milk or water. You are more likely to drown them than help them. Baby birds get their water from the food their parents (or rehabber) properly provides. Still, as a resource for splinting and caring for injuries, there is some valuable information. Just be sure to supplement it with some newer publications as well.

"Revised" but not by much.......2000-07-03

I compared the 1998 "revised" edition with the original 1973 edition and found that the number of pages were exactly the same. The differences between the latest and the first editions are virtually undetectable so if you are thinking of replacing your first edition with the latest, don't bother.

Care of the Wild Feathered and Furred: Treating and Feeding Injured Birds and Animals

Average customer rating:

Care of the Wild Feathered and Furred: Treating and Feeding Injured Birds and Animals
Mae Hickman , and Maxine Guy
Manufacturer: Falcon Press Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0762736216

CARE OF THE WILD FEATHERED & FURRED. TREATING AND FEEDING INJURED BIRDS AND ANIMALS [M2]

Average customer rating:

CARE OF THE WILD FEATHERED & FURRED. TREATING AND FEEDING INJURED BIRDS AND ANIMALS [M2]
M. & M. Guy Hickman
Manufacturer: Michael Kesend Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WP0TBI

Average customer rating:

Care of the Wild, Feathered and Furred: Treating and Feeding Injured Birds and Animals
Mae & Maxine Guy Hickman
Manufacturer: Michael Kesend Publishing, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000W3QHZC

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books